Research Interests

I strive
to be an integrative biologist because I believe that ecology
and evolutionary biology necessarily inform each other as sciences. My
early graduate research has involved the phylogenetics
of the several freshwater fish groups including; darters (Percidae), cichlids
(Cichlidae), and minnows (Cyprinidae). I am currently developing a research program concerning
functional morphological evolution along a benthic to pelagic habitat axis in North
American cyprinids and its influence on community assembly in this group. I integrate phylogenetic, morphological, ecological, and
high-speed film data to test hypotheses about evolutionary and ecological processes influencing diversification of North American cyprinids along a benthic to pelagic habitat axis.